Pungu maclareni
| Pungu maclareni | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Pungu | ||||||||||||
| Trewavas in Trewavas , Green & Corbet , 1972 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Pungu maclareni | ||||||||||||
| ( Trewavas , 1962) |
Pungu maclareni is a species of fish from the cichlid family (Cichlidae). It is endemic to the Barombi Mbo volcanic lakein Western Cameroon. The species was named after the Mac Laren catcher.
features
Pungu maclareni has a typical, relatively stocky cichlid shape with a large head and becomes about 10 cm long. The highest body height is at the head-trunk transition. The fish are of variable color, mostly silvery-yellow with dark spots on the head, (to a lesser extent) on the sideline and on the caudal stalk (again denser). Gill cover, dorsal and caudal fin are metallic blue. The spot on the dorsal fin that is typical of tilapia is missing. The dorsal fin of the animals is supported by 15 to 17 spines and 10 to 11 soft rays. The number of spines in the anal fin is 3, those of the soft rays 8 to 9. The number of vertebrae is 29. The specialized, muscular “picker” mouth is terminal and has pronounced fleshy lips. The single-pointed middle teeth of the front row of teeth protrude. Because of their red color, they are easily visible. In juvenile fish these teeth have an indentation, they are later replaced. The outer row of teeth of the upper jaw comprises 7 to 8 teeth, those of the lower jaw 12 to 23. The teeth of the inner rows have three tips of different sizes. The toothed field of the pharyngealia is the same size as the toothless field. The pharyngeal teeth are slender and single-pointed. The intestine is 2.5 times the standard length .
Way of life
Pungu maclareni lives in the Barombi Mbo in small groups in a water depth of four meters and below. It feeds as a nursery eater, as well as various insect larvae ( mayflies , caddis flies , mosquitos ) and also the endemic freshwater sponge Corvospongilla thysi , which cannot be eaten by other fish species because of its sclerite . They also eat seeds, hard-shelled fruits and plants that have fallen into the water. They are ovophilic mouthbrooders . The relatively large eggs have a diameter of 4 mm.
Danger
The species is on the IUCN as the extinction threatened ( Critically Endangered estimated). The main danger is the increasing pollution and sedimentation of the Barombi Mbo.
literature
- Anton Lamboj : Pungu maclareni. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 840.
- Uli Schiewen: The cichlids of the Cameroon crater lakes . In: DATZ , vol. 46 (1992), issue 3, ISSN 1616-3222 .
- Uli Schiewen: Diversity in the smallest of spaces - Cameroon's south-western province . In: DATZ , vol. 57 (2003), issue 2, ISSN 1616-3222 .
Web links
- Pungu maclareni on Fishbase.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ IUCN Species Account (Retrieved October 7, 2011).